What Others Missed

Friday, January 10, 2014

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a terrible "trade" deal being negotiated in secret by the governments of a dozen countries (including ours) colluding with corporate interests.

Under the TPP, more American jobs would be offshored. Internet freedom would be a joke. Developing countries would lose access to lifesaving medicines. Unsafe foods and products could pour into our country. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Our best shot to stop the TPP is right now.

The enactment of the TPP will hinge upon the passage of so-called “fast-track trade authority,” which would allow the president to sign off on the TPP before the American people or Congress ever have a chance to read it.

A fast-track bill was introduced in Congress yesterday. So we need to speak out today.

You might think such a far-reaching proposal as the TPP would be subject to intense public debate. But the text of the proposed deal is considered classified by our government and even members of Congress have been given extremely limited access to it.

Yet, while the government has kept the public and Congress largely in the dark about the TPP, it has given 600 corporate advisers access to the full text of the proposal.

We know the little we do know about the deal because drafts of some of its chapters have been leaked. And what we know isn't pretty.

A draft of the "intellectual property rights" chapter of the TPP was leaked recently, and according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it "reflects a terrible but unsurprising truth: an agreement negotiated in near-total secrecy, including corporations but excluding the public, comes out as an anti-user wish list of industry-friendly policies."

That's only one chapter, when there are many other chapters that haven't been leaked.

The first stage in the plan to pass the TPP is a big push for Congress to pass fast-track trade authority, which would short-circuit the typical legislative process when trade deals like the TPP come up for a vote.

Pressured by giant corporate interests that stand to make huge amounts of money on the deal, and faced with a public that has purposefully been kept ignorant about this deal, it’s not hard to see how the TPP could be rammed through Congress if fast-track trade authority is in place.

Fast-track trade authority would allow the president to sign a trade deal before Congress has an opportunity to approve it. Then the president could send it to Congress with the guarantee that it would get an up-or-down vote within 90 day.

Fast track would mean there would be no meaningful hearings, limited debate and absolutely no amendments to the deal. And there would be tremendous pressure on Congress to rubberstamp anything the president signs.

The recently leaked drafter chapter is a huge red flag about the kind of terrible policies the Obama administration wants to include in the TPP.

The Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority over trade. And it would be a deeply irresponsible abdication of responsibility for Congress to pass fast track when we know the TPP is coming down the pike, especially when we know the consequences of the TPP could be disastrous.

It's the job of Congress to fully vet trade deals and ensure they work for everyone, not just giant corporations.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Today is World AIDS day. Know the facts, get tested, and know your status. Hug your friends, and be good to one another.Too many people don't know they have HIV. In the United States, nearly 1.1 million people are living with HIV, and almost one in five don't know they are infected. Getting tested is the first step to finding out if you have HIV. If you have HIV, getting medical care and taking medicines regularly helps you live a longer, healthier life and also lowers the chances of passing HIV on to others.To find a local testing site go to the CDC's National HIV and STD Testing resources http://hivtest.cdc.gov/

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Friends and Family! I'm still around I just haven't had much to say lately. I hope that this message finds you well and that you are healthy and happy. I am thankful for knowing each one of you.

Saturday, September 07, 2013

When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay,'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight.I told my mom, tears rushing down my faceShe's like "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin' "Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she?Bunch of stereotypes all in my head.I remember doing the math like, "Yeah, I'm good at little league"A preconceived idea of what it all meantFor those that liked the same sexHad the characteristicsThe right wing conservatives think it's a decisionAnd you can be cured with some treatment and religionMan-made rewiring of a predispositionPlaying God, aw nah here we goAmerica the brave still fears what we don't knowAnd God loves all his children, is somehow forgottenBut we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years agoI don't know

And I can't changeEven if I triedEven if I wanted toAnd I can't changeEven if I triedEven if I wanted toMy loveMy loveMy loveShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warm

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates meHave you read the YouTube comments lately?"Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the dailyWe become so numb to what we're sayingA culture founded from oppressionYet we don't have acceptance for 'emCall each other faggots behind the keys of a message boardA word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores itGay is synonymous with the lesserIt's the same hate that's caused wars from religionGender to skin color, the complexion of your pigmentThe same fight that led people to walk outs and sit insIt's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!Live on and be yourselfWhen I was at church they taught me something elseIf you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointedThat holy water that you soak in has been poisonedWhen everyone else is more comfortable remaining voicelessRather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolenI might not be the same, but that's not importantNo freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it

We press play, don't press pauseProgress, march onWith the veil over our eyesWe turn our back on the causeTill the day that my uncles can be united by lawWhen kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heartA world so hateful some would rather die than be who they areAnd a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it allBut it's a damn good place to startNo law is gonna change usWe have to change usWhatever God you believe inWe come from the same oneStrip away the fearUnderneath it's all the same loveAbout time that we raised up... sex

And I can't changeEven if I triedEven if I wanted toAnd I can't changeEven if I triedEven if I wanted toMy loveMy loveMy loveShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warmShe keeps me warm

Love is patientLove is kindLove is patientLove is kind(not crying on Sundays)Love is patient(not crying on Sundays)Love is kind(I'm not crying on Sundays)Love is patient(not crying on Sundays)Love is kind(I'm not crying on Sundays)Love is patient(not crying on Sundays)Love is kind(I'm not crying on Sundays)Love is patientLove is kind

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